UNITED NATIONS - 16 November 2005  / www.MaximsNews.com/ 

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The Law of Cyber-Space, Ambassador Ahmad Kamal, published by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). 

World Summit for Information Society (WSIS) 

      UNITED NATIONS - 16 November 2005  / www.MaximsNews.com/ About two months after gaining freedom, I visited Indonesia to call on old friends and to congratulate them for the remarkable success story in political reform, that is, the practice of democracy on a scale unseen in the Muslim world. 

The changing tide in the rise of democracy in other parts of the Muslim world pales before this nation with the largest Muslim population as it stands out as the most significant political development in the recent history of democracy.

There were attempts to galvanize Islamic radicalism, but when Muslims in Indonesia were asked to choose between ideological exclusivism and moderation they overwhelmingly chose the latter. 

They took the road that was closed on them by 30 years of corrupt dictatorship. They elected for a free press, an independent judiciary and free speech. They elected for freedom and democracy.  

The other enduring lesson from Indonesia, which reinforces what I have been advocating for some time now, is that the impetus for democratization of the Muslim world can and must come from Muslims themselves. 

Why must such a process be driven by America or Europe or any other region for that matter?  FULL STORY>>

Dear Friends:

As November 20, Bobby’s birthday, approaches, we are grateful to those who share his belief in the power of our nation to change the world for the better.

The images out of New Orleans, Mississippi, Baghdad and Afghanistan and the lack of images out of Africa clearly show us we have yet to live up to America’s full promise.

There could be no better tribute to Bobby than for friends and colleagues and all who found inspiration in his call to action, to become involved in helping the people living in the shadows he cared about.

On November 16, The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial will host a day of celebration featuring the 22nd presentation of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award to Stephen Bradberry, a champion of the working poor for over two decades. 

Stephen joins  Human Rights Laureates from around the world and hundreds of RFK Fellows who have partnered with the Memorial to help realize their dream of a more just and gentle world.

Together we can effect the powerful change Bobby knew was possible when he offered a breath of hope to a country suffocating under the stranglehold of apartheid:

"Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope and crossing each other from a million centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."  South Africa 1966

Please join us in making more ripples.

Ethel Kennedy

Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy is a founding member of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial and member of the Memorial’s Board of Directors. Mrs. Kennedy has remained very active in the Memorial, including human rights advocacy work since the RFK Human Rights Award was established in 1984. Most recently she has participated in strategic delegations to Haiti, Brazil and South Florida, participated in protest marches and has contacted various authorities on behalf of the Laureates' causes.

WATCH ON C-SPAN: Robert Kennedy's daughter Kerry Kennedy and Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) will host the event. Testimonials will be given by Senator Edward Kennedy, Senator John Kerry, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Paul Sarbanes, Hon. John Lewis, Hon. Dennis Kucinich, entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte, Dolores Huerta, Joe Scarborough of MSNBC's Scarborough Country, Jeff Shesol, former Clinton speechwriter and author, Norman MacAfee, author of "The Gospel According to RFK", Joe Palermo, author of "In His Own Right: The Odyssey of Senator Robert Kennedy", Reverend Robert F. Drinan, S.J. and of Georgetown University and many more.               

Open Invitation to all MaximsNews Readers: 

 2005 United Nations Correspondents Association AWARDS AND DINNER DANCE

December 2nd at the United Nations 

The United Nations Correspondents Association was founded in 1947, when the UN first began to meet regularly in New York. We are the legal heirs of the former League of Nations Journalists’ Association. Our 200 members come from some 50 nations. The purpose of the awards is to recognize and encourage excellence in reporting on the United Nations, its affiliated agencies, organizations and missions, worldwide.

The UNCA Awards include the $10,000 Elizabeth Neuffer Memorial Prize for written media (including online media), the $10,000 Ricardo Ortega Memorial Prize for broadcast journalism, and a $10,000 prize for any entry in any medium that best covers the humanitarian and development aspects of the U.N. and its agencies. The awards are made possible by the generous support of the U.N. Foundation, Antena 3 TV of Spain, The Boston Globe and UNCA itself.

The UNCA/Ranan Lurie awards for political cartoons are $10,000 first prize, $5,000 second prize, $3,000 third prize and ten honourable mention plaques.  

For more information please contact Clair McCarthy at McCarthy Management at 212.267.3169 or clairmccarthy@aol.com.